Why the Norway Plus plan is not as simple as Brexiteers believe

Press quote (The Telegraph)
Sam Lowe
29 November 2018

Trade experts like Sam Lowe at the Centre for European Reform think-tank say this is possible, in theory, but it would not happen overnight or automatically, since the UK would immediately be seeking derogations and special status within the EFTA bloc, which comprises Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. These countries are all part of the Schengen free movement zone (which the UK is not, and would want to remain outside) and is outside the EU customs union. As a result EFTA countries have 24 trade deals of their own. It is not clear how these would operate, and future deals would be done, if the UK was part of both EFTA but also a member of the EU’s customs union, as Mr Boles suggests. In any event, all of this would require negotiation.